


These feelings inside of me

by PeKaNo



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/F, I'm Bad At Tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeKaNo/pseuds/PeKaNo
Summary: Tigress was housebreaking when someone she didn't expect to see showed up.
Relationships: Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep/Tigress | Sheena
Comments: 6
Kudos: 87





	These feelings inside of me

**Author's Note:**

> With season 3 coming in... *checks the time* 1 day and 12 hours, I felt the urge to write a slash fic about my Carmen Sandiego OTP in case it gets ruined by season 3. Tigress/Carmen surprisingly got some fuel in the interactive episode "To Steal or Not to Steal", but sadly I think if we're getting anything canonically it will be Julia/Carmen.
> 
> I kinda rushed this one so I'm sorry if there's any mistakes, some parts were honestly hard to write and I fear that I might have goten out-of-character at some point(s).  
> Still hope you'll enjoy your reading, have a good day/evening/night~

The street was empty, and it was all Tigress needed to start her infiltration. No passer-by, no cars moving, only distant noises from other streets.

Her target was the 3rd floor apartment, street number 154, where a tsar tiara was apparently settled before being sent to a museum.

Infiltrating a home in Paris was usually hard, even for Tigress, but luckily this one was away from busy areas. As she came close to her target, she noticed a gutter coming down from the roof, right between her target and the number 156.

‘Perfect’ she thought as she started climbing along it. Instead of stopping at the third floor and doing some crazy acrobatics to reach a window, she went up to the roof to access the inside stairs –or vents if there were any, which she doubted–, in order to break in from somewhere she couldn’t be seen.

It took her less than five seconds to go from the sidewalk to the roof, and she managed to make absolutely no sound even though the gutter was quite old and damaged. As expected, no vents could be seen on the roof. ‘Curse these old buildings’. Tigress went to the roof door and picked its lock in a few seconds, making a small metal noise that could probably not even be heard a few meters away.

Climbing down the stairs in the dark, using her night vision goggles to avoid tripping over anything, she quickly reached the third floor and picked its lock as well. This one was bigger and better quality than the roof one, but nothing she couldn’t handle. From what she knew the apartment was empty anyway, so there was no risk in taking her time. Someone could come from the lower levels, but she would hear them and she had plenty of time to run away to the roof.

After a louder clink, the heavy door opened a little. Tigress sneaked inside and closed it, taking some time to study its lock and whether or not she’d have to pick it again on her way out. Sadly, there was no mechanical knob or anything other than a keyhole, so she would have to pick it again when she would leave. Hopefully the security system wouldn’t be too hard to get over.

Tigress took a few steps, inspecting the walls to look for any alarm system she could think of. Lasers, movement detectors, wires –who would use them now that technology existed though?–. But nothing was in sight. Some top security buildings sometimes had pressure detectors under the floor, but the bare parquet showed no recent installations of that type. The worst she could fear was a silent alarm that she would have triggered somehow, so she had to be quick and leave with the tiara before anyone could even come.

Making her way in the entrance corridor, she passed next to what seemed to be a kitchen, and kept walking until a door on her left, slightly opened, caught her attention. It seemed to lead to a much bigger room –probably the living room– and it was where the tiara probably was.

Squeezing through the door, Tigress instantly noticed the glass case on the table, with the big tiara inside. ‘Almost too easy’ she thought. 

The tiara was made of rose gold, encrusted with hundreds of diamonds, with three massive garnets near its center. It was big, almost ridiculously huge, and seemed to weigh quite a lot. It was probably worth millions. 

Without moving a finger, Tigress examined the room, looking for other alarm systems. But once again, she couldn’t spot any. Slowly walking forward, she got closer to the table, each step making her realize how beautiful the tiara was and how much it was probably worth. She was usually not a big fan of fancy jewelry, but this piece was probably the most gorgeous she had ever seen.

As she approached the table, Tigress started to feel weird. There was something weird about this whole place. No way something this expensive was not guarded by at least a basic alarm system. Almost instantly after she realized this, she heard a quiet lock sound coming from behind her.

Immediately turning around, Tigress saw the only person she feared more than cops: Carmen Sandiego. She was right in front of her, lying against the door she had just closed, a smirk on her face.

-Sorry Kitten, but I’m not letting you get away with this, Carmen taunted.

-Like you even could, Tigress answered before quickly taking action.

Trying to outspeed Carmen, the thief jumped on the table, grabbed the tiara, and ran towards the other side of the room, where she hoped she would find a door to run away. Strangely, she didn’t hear Carmen footsteps behind her. Why wasn’t she pursuing her? Was the tiara fake? Tigress looked at it briefly, but in the penumbra she had no way to tell its authenticity.

When she reached the back of the room, Tigress realized with horror that there was no other door. The only exit was the one Carmen was leaning against. Quickly going back in her direction, Tigress opted for plan B; use force. 

-Is the Kitty looking for som-, Carmen started before realizing Tigress had straight up jumped on her, claws out.

With one fluid movement, Carmen dodged and repelled her, trying to protect the door that was behind her. Tigress didn’t let that stop her, and she came back multiple times, trying new attacks, new angles, only to be repelled by Carmen every single time. However, she was never really hurt or destabilized, just pushed backwards. As if Carmen was playing with her.

-Still holding back Carmen? We’re no longer on the island you know? Tigress teased, a little pissed.

She was getting bored, and even if it put her in more danger, she wished Carmen actually tried something offensive against her.

-I’m, uh... no! I’m just playing with you, Carmen answered, sounding almost… embarrassed?

Suddenly, Carmen finally made a move. She tried to swipe Tigress’ legs, and used her imbalance to push her, almost making her trip over an armchair.

Tigress barely dodged the following attack, an horizontal kick directed towards her face. However, her night glasses got snatched out by Carmen’s heel, exploding against the wall nearby.

Tigress quickly backed up, as she needed a few seconds for her eyes to get used to the darkness. At least now she could see colours, and with no surprise she noticed that carmen still had her usual red coat and fedora. Trying to win some time, Tigress tried to distract her enemy.

-How did you know I was coming here, Fedora the Explora?

-Maybe this whole thing is one of my traps, Carmen answered with a sly grin.

Tigress saw Carmen pull on something as she talked, and instantly felt her legs go forward, making her fall on her back while she dropped the tiara out of surprise. Before she could even realize what was happening, she was lying on the floor, and Carmen was above her, a foot on her stomach to block her. Tigress could feel her heel through her thin suit, but luckily she wasn’t pressing too hard.

Carmen hesitated a few seconds.

-Scared to finish what you started? Tigress taunted.

The slight chance she had to destabilize Carmen vanished as she felt the pressure on her stomach get stronger, taking her breath away.

-I’m just trying to figure out what I’ll do with you…

-You aren’t going to lend me to the police? Tigress asked, confused.

What was the point of this trap if she wasn’t even going to arrest her?

-Nah, Carmen answered. You would break out in no time anyway. Maybe I’ll just keep you for myself, she continued teasingly.

Tigress tensed up unconsciously, slightly turning her head and looking away from Carmen. Hopefully she hadn’t noticed Tigress’ embarrassment.

-You would never stand it, I’m insufferable when I’m locked in a cage, Tigress stated, trying to sound confident. 

She knew that Carmen was flirting with basically everyone, and that it was how she usually talked. But since they had never gotten along, Carmen usually avoided doing it with her. At least back on the isle of V.I.L.E. She had to admit, hearing Carmen say something else than a taunt or an order to her was… it made Tigress feel weird.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Tigress dared look at Carmen’s face for a few seconds. Surprisingly, she realized that Carmen seemed confused. Did Tigress let too much of her feelings appear?

They were both trained to hide everything, their feelings, their sufferings, their tiredness, and usually they were good at it. But they were also trained to detect the slightest change on someone else’s face. Maybe Carmen had noticed that small uneasiness from Tigress.

Taking advantage of her confusion, Tigress violently moved Carmen’s leg and got up, ready to fight her way to the door.

They fought for a couple of minutes; Carmen trying to make her fall again, and Tigress trying to destabilize her enough to be able to run away. With one claw strike aimed at Carmen’s torso, Tigress cut through red curtains on the wall, unveiling an old-looking window. It didn’t look thick, and Tigress quickly realized that she could probably escape from there. The tiara was no longer her objective; she just wanted to avoid being captured.

Thanks to a short respite, Tigress took a few steps back, glancing at her objective before looking at Carmen again. Sadly, it seemed that her opponent had figured out her intentions, so without waiting Tigress dashed towards the window. Jumping from the third floor wasn’t her best idea, but she would probably figure out something to slow her fall.

Through her sprint, she felt something –probably Carmen’s hand– grab her wrist before she managed to reach her goal. Tigress turned around to scratch Carmen’s arm in order to free herself, but she stopped at the last moment when she saw the indecipherable look on her face.

-Wait…

Tigress freezed, looking at her opponent's face with fear mingled with curiosity. After a couple of seconds, Carmen seemed to get some of her confidence back.

-What if we met up someday? I mean, without trying to kill each other?

Tigress was agaped. She expected a lot of things, but that was… It felt unreal.

-Wh… What? Why are you asking me this? she answered defensively, trying to sound repulsed by the proposition.

Carmen didn’t even notice her tone.

-I don’t know. It’s probably dumb, but I feel like I want to talk with you calmly, because even on the island I never really had the occasion to. I want to get to know you better, because it’s a chance I never had before.

Tigress was confused. She had instantly forgotten about the whole ‘running away’ thing. She had never thought that her relation with Carmen would be anything else than rivals or enemies, but it seemed that an unexpected change was possible.

Once again, her curiosity was leading her to accept. She could stay a few more days in Paris because she hadn’t communicated the exact date of her housebreak to V.I.L.E. operatives, making it easy for her to meet up with Carmen in the next couple of days.

-What about tomorrow? Tigress asked awkwardly.

It took a few seconds for Carmen to realize what Tigress had just said, and the look of confusion on her face got instantly replaced by surprise, as if she didn’t expect a positive answer. However, a smile quickly grew back on her face.

-What about 11AM, down here in the street?

-Noted, Tigress answered, realizing that her night was going to be short.

Not willing to go through another awkward moment, Tigress quickly walked to the window and opened it.

-You know you can get out through the door right? Carmen asked provokingly.

-That would be no fun.

Tigress turned back, throwing a sly grin at Carmen before disappearing into the night.

\---

Carmen was waiting for Tigress in front of the house entrance. She had been outside five minutes before the rendez-vous in case Tigress would show up early, but 15 minutes had passed and she was still not in sight. Carmen was starting to believe that maybe her rival –or ex-rival?– had stood her up.

Suddenly, she saw Tigress in the distance, walking energetically towards her.

-Hey, the white-haired girl said awkwardly as she approached Carmen.

Tigress was wearing slim trousers and a khaki shirt, close to what she used to wear back on the isle of V.I.L.E when they were still students. Carmen gasped internally as she realized she hadn’t seen Sheena in any other clothings than her infiltration suit for years. The cutest thing was the red hairclip that Carmen thought she stopped using years ago. Maybe the fact that she was still using it meant something… or maybe Carmen’s mind was just making stuff up.

While looking at Tigress, Carmen realized that despite her efforts to hide it, she was a little bit out of breath.

-Did you run? she asked teasingly. Afraid of being late?

Tigress blushed slightly.

-No! she answered sharply as fast as possible.

She had tried to sound aggressive but it only made her sound more embarrassed. She grunted out of frustration and managed to regain a somewhat-impassive posture.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed. First they were both looking into each other’s eyes, then Tigress looked away as she felt her cheeks become warm once again.

-So, what are we doing? Tigress asked to try to move on.

-I suppose we could go for a walk, there is some cool stuff around here, Carmen answered. Unless you want to eat something right now?

-I’m fine.

The two girls walked for a bit, talking about everything and anything, even though most of the stuff they had in common was their teenage years spent on the isle of V.I.L.E. They got through busy squares, touristic areas, small alleys smelling like piss –it was something inevitable in Paris–, and at some point Carmen even saved Tigress from being hit by an electric scooter riding on the sidewalk.

After more than an hour, Tigress’ belly started to rumble.

-I see that the kitty is hungry, Carmen taunted playfully.

Without leaving Tigress enough time to retort, she continued:

-Come, I know a cool restaurant not far from here!

Carmen grabbed Tigress’ hand and dragged her a few blocks away into a narrow alley that didn’t look very welcoming. In the middle of all the dark grey buildings, a sky blue storefront stood out. ‘Autour du Monde’ was written on it in a yellow fanciful font, and a smell of curry mixed with eggplants was spreading from the inside.

Once Carmen opened the door, Tigress discovered the cozy and pleasant atmosphere of the room, its warm lights and colorful hangings. Only a few tables were occupied –mostly by couples– and a waiter quickly led them to a small table close to a side wall.

After ordering appetizers and getting their drinks, Carmen decided to end the silence that had been going between them.

-I love this place because they have food from basically all around the world! And they’re good at it.

As she spoke, Carmen noticed that Tigress’ cheeks were a little red. She thought that it might be because of the temperature difference between the street and the restaurant, but it was a rather warm day so Carmen quickly excluded this possibility. Abruptly, something clicked in her mind. Carmen remembered that a couple of minutes ago, she had just casually taken Tigress’ hand and held it until they had arrived here. Was she blushing because of the hand holding?

-Are you okay? Carmen asked out of concern.

-Yea… yes! Tigress answered, a bit embarrassed and confused by the sudden question.

She took a sip of her drink.

-So… Tigress continued. Why did you do all of this? Why did you want to see me “in a peaceful way”?

-I told you yesterday.

Seeing the incomprehension on Tigress’ face, Carmen decided to re-explain.

-I mean, we never really got to know each other, and I wanted to have that chance, at least for a day.

-But… that’s it? There’s like seven billion other people on earth that you could meet, so why me?

An awkward silence settled for a few seconds.

-I noticed how you looked at me yesterday and I thought that maybe…

Carmen stopped, playing nervously with her glass.

-Maybe what?

-I don’t know! It’s complicated, I don’t understand how I feel.

-Wait, why are you talking about your feeli- oh.

Tigress realized what Carmen meant halfway through her sentence. All of this was because… Carmen had feelings for her? Now that her curiosity was satisfied, Tigress didn’t really know what to say or how to act. She didn’t even know about her own feelings; she was so used to ignoring them that their absence suddenly hit her like she had been missing something important her whole life.

She looked into Carmen’s eyes to try to get support, to be reassured, anything, but Carmen was gazing at her glass, too scared to make eye contact. Hazardously, Tigress started her “answer”.

-I’m sorry Carmen… I never really thought about this- about all of this.

Regaining some of her confidence, Carmen grabbed Tigress’ left hand and started:

-Listen, I-

Tigress abruptly pulled her hand back and hissed, causing a few other customers to stare at them.

-Sorry, Carmen apologized, forget everything that I said.

Tigress realized that she had probably just broken her heart when she saw how Carmen looked sad and hurt. Determined to fix her mistake, she summoned all of her courage.

-No, no, I’m the one who should be sorry, I’m just not used to this either.

Carmen still looked hurt, but Tigress noticed a newly formed glimpse of hope in her eyes.

-Back on the island, she continued, I was kind of mean to you and I usually admitted that it was because I was jealous, but in fact, I think I had… I think I had a crush on you.

Tigress took a deep breath. She was probably flushed right now, but it didn’t matter. She had somehow told something that she had kept buried in her for all these years, and it felt… somewhat relieving.

-Really? Carmen finally said.

-Do I look like I’m lying?

Carmen looked right into Tigress’ eyes, scanning for any hint that the girl was playing with her. But she didn’t find any, and the only thing her stare did was making Tigress blush even harder. A shy smile slowly grew on Carmen’s face.

-Awwwww, the cat was falling for me all this time! she teased like she had instantly recovered all of her confidence.

-Work had become more important since then. Until you asked me out yesterday. I…

Tigress sighed.

-I’m willing to try this with you.

Her face was almost as red as Carmen’s coat when she finished.

-Try what? Carmen asked in a fake oblivious tone.

-COME ON, you know what i’m talking about, Tigress retorted.

-Do I?

Carmen chuckled. It wasn’t something that Tigress was used to hearing, and it made her heart melt.

-Stop it or I’ll reconsider my choice, Tigress threatened, half-joking.

Afraid to go too far, Carmen regained a bit of her seriousness.

-Also uhhh, how are we going to make it out since you still work with V.I.L.E? Carmen asked, concerned.

-That is a problem for future Sheena and future Carmen, Tigress answered before making a blissful smile.

Carmen smiled back, still looking into her new girlfriend’s eyes. Tigress was starting to get used to it, and by the end of their lunch she found herself more often lost in Carmen’s gaze than she would have liked to admit.

As Carmen was paying the bill, she said teasingly to Tigress:

-You know what? I have an idea about something we could do not far from here, and I think you’d like it.

Without even waiting for a response, she took her hand and got out of the restaurant.

This time, Tigress didn’t feel like she was dragged. They were walking side-by-side, their fingers intertwined, and Tigress was ready to walk until the end of time just to stay with her.


End file.
